People who don't like cats have certainly been a mouse in a previous life!

Cats and kittens live with full access to all parts of life and sleep in
my bed. Kittens are born there too, and remain for the first few weeks until
they start to toddle and temporarily move into a kitten section for about 2
weeks or so (aka my heated floor and therefore favorite room in the house, the
master bath accessable to all adults but blocked from juvenile escapees until they
are no more 'accidents', at which time the divider board is removed and all hell
breaks loose ;)Our cats and kittens are extremely snuggly and people oriented. We call them 'attackcuddlers'
for a reason: You don't always see it coming: our
firstTom would launch himself at unsuspecting humans from his high tree, confident that there
would be ready arms to catch him.
For links to the cats and further information please refer to the original index
page, click on a button and scroll down to the american flag. Easier to maintain that way.

PERSONAL BEGINNINGS

ABOUT JEWELS OF THAI CATTERY

Like many others who had a siamese cat,
I was flabberghasted when after 20 years, I tried to get another one. With awe
I stared at the new photos, thinking, what happened? This isn't it!

Well, you can't argue about taste, but I wanted one 'like old times' (the
standard cry of Thai fanatics), and NOT such a super slim, batty looking kit
that appeared to be the norm everywhere. Everywhere? Not quite. After a long
search I finally found 'my' cats:

Surfed the net nights on end, and learned (aha!) now there are TWO types of siamese, and the one
my heart desired is now officially called Thai (or traditional siamese / old style siamese). It wasn't easy to get one, the few breeders who held on to the old type had their doors run in, but
I would not be stopped. When I finally found the perfect cattery and moved up on the waiting list,
MY cat was no longer an unaccessable dream. Then I fell in love with
more than just the one I originally wanted, and life took an
interesting turn. I've shared my life with cats as long as I can think back, with kittens (growing up in the country) being a normal part of it, and had been breeding Maine-Coons for nearly two decades, but
I was not prepared to be run over like this. NOTHING prepares you for potent siamese, not even the one
neutered I grew up with and had for most of my live.

During the next few months (and many visits to the fabulous 'Star of Thai' cattery)
I caught the Thai fever beyond any reason. Within a year, one kitten turned into four. And
I decided, I want that too. Not just to fill a house (a new one I had to move in to so all of them had plenty of room to roam and romp) and heart with Thais, but to spend
my live helping to make sure this wonderful race remains. I cannot express
my joy and gratitude to the few breeders who continued to fight over the last two decades to retain the standard and succeed to get the Thais accepted as a registered breed. Our heroes and role models, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!

I had a long way ahead of me, but I was lucky to find a few respected breeders
I could add to our 'family', and who continued to guide me through the first rough years. They can't possibly imagine what that means to
me (ok, yes they can). It is not easy to be allowed to enter these hallowed halls, and
I felt honored to be included and have always made a point to hold up
agreements at all cost to prove worthy.

When I chose Dara (out of Sky Eyes Petite Fleur and Wusel von der
Falkenhöhe)and began visiting her, a little lilac girl kept toddling up, and it was no contest to decide which one would
come home with me. BOTH! Only when her pickup date neared, there
was this chocolate kit.... the rest is history.

The goal is to help that the traditional
siamese (Tica-Thai) be preserved in pure lines that can be traced to the
original siamese, no foreign genes as far as could be detected, and
therefore hopefully, no surprises. One can probably not know EVERY
cat and line in the pedigrees far back, but we try our best to exclude
possible semi long hair and crossbreeds. Not only to maintain the beauty, but most of all, the impeccable character
of very people oriented furfolk. I am looking at moderate siamese lines to bring in new blood from time to time
(THANK you England!).
Health and Character will be the deciding factor just as much as quality. For the future I aim to improve eye color and coat quality
without resorting to inbreeding.

I felt very blessed to be allowed to
add my first lovely
english lad 'J.J' to the menagery, originating from lines I have admired for
years. He has brougth just those qualities of eye
color and fur quality.
Thanks again for the tremendous trust to
place that treasure into foreign hands! Very selectively, he did a splendid job of
improving the gene pool and is now happily placed as a pet. His
daughters 'Fine Silver' and Izumi (at Daisuki Thai cattery) show fabulous promise and
are quite successful a show. Our
'English Jewel' was the first, but he won't be the last paw
print from across the pond. The second 'british escapee' is the
fabulous gentlecat Rameses Seefahdao who changed domicile to keep our ladies
(and himself) happy and occupied. We now proudly present english
studly number 3, Mizar ("Meezer") Jewel from Sialaxy.

With over 200 square meters of living space and a huge bed,
there is plenty of room and lots of love. With friends and contacts around the globe
there is a good foundation for the future. Hopefully, also the
chance for trust and opportunity to preserve and pass on what we already
have achieved.

A word about the character.... I have seen, visited, and 'owned' many cats of various breeds, but such a personality of sweet, cuddly, and 'permanently attached' to their people as our Thai/Trad.Siam
I have not experienced before. Total body contact, head butts, and purrs for hours on end (no wonder Star of Thai warn about the addictive factor of their kittens). These furbabies are simply ALWAYS there, perfectly sweet, and
blow away every visitor with their inquisitve nature. It may be that we were lucky to 'pick the best', but I'm sure a lot has to do with the fact that these kittens are raised with permanent human contact.
As I work from my home, and mostly on the computer, I can afford them the
same luxury and as a result, we end up with a dream of a well socialized kitten, who is ready to conquer the world when
they leave.

No wonder with that combination of time and effection as well as superb pedigrees. You will find such famous
german ancestors as von der Falkenhöhe: Wusel, Angelo and Briska
Sky Eyes: Petite Fleur
and Pablo, Else von der Birke, lines from alte Ziegelei and
of Old
Royal Siam, as well as the world renowned british contingent of
Lintama, Sibir and Hancas lines
to only name a FEW.

The ONLY problem with
the furballs I see is to be able to part with the offspring, it always hurts way too much to give them up. I take a gloomy view of that, or as Germans would say: I see black. Or rather chocolate,
blue or lilac - lol.

Kits
remain my children after they've moved on, and have a life long
'homecoming' warrantee if life should get in the way.

If you enjoyed our site, and our Jewels, we'll be delighted to see your comments/suggestions in our guestbook:

Located in Bavaria, Germany, I aim to breed absolutely healthy cats with
lovely Siamese purrsonalities and preserve the look of the Siamese cats
which were seen, admired, and given championship status at cat shows up
to the late fifties of the last century.

Our kittens leave us at the age of 14-16 weeks, fully vaccinated (FVP and
FVR – kittens that will move outside of Germany will also be vaccinated
against rabies), dewormed, microchipped and they will also get a care
package containing food, toys, cat litter and an info folder with a
health certificate, the vaccination certificate, a registered four
generation pedigree, pictures and everything you’ll need to know.

We are placing our kittens primarily as pets only, which means they will be
neutered before they leave us. Only on exception will a kittens be
placed on the active register and given to reliable hand picked breeding
programs that we think are worth supporting. If you are interested in a
kitten for breeding purposes please don’t hesitate to inquire telling a
bit more about yourself, your cats and your breeding program.

We 'barf', meaning kits are reared on raw meat

as well as selected wet food and we expect them to get that
in their new homes as well

WHAT IS A “THAI” CAT?

MANY Thanks to my 'daughter' at cattery
Daisuki Thai for the legwork :)

The type of cats that are referred to as the “old-style Siamese” in the U.K.
are called and have been registered as “Thai” in Europe by the WCF (World
Cat Federation) since 1990. This gives us
Europeans the great privilege to show our cats at cat shows, earn
different championship titles and show interested visitors that their
beloved “old-style Siamese” have not vanished and will never be fully
replaced by the “modern show style
Siamese”. It is not uncommon that visitors and cat show judges that get
to see our cats have tears in their eyes telling us they used to have a
cat exactly looking like ours years ago and that they are thankful that
there are still breeders that try to preserve the old look of the breed.

In 2007 TICA (The International Cat Association) also recognized the “Thai” with a very detailed standard of points (I love
this standard of points!) describing the “TICA Thai” as the “old-style
Siamese”, the native cat of Thailand. A lot of breeders who aimed to get
this standard of points of the “Thai” recognized in TICA had consulted
and visited the old catteries in Thailand finding Wichienmaat cats that
exactly looked like the “old-style Siamese” who had been bred for over a
century in the West. Amazing isn’t it?
This standard of points is the result of hard work and a global
cooperation of breeders who love to preserve the look of the “old-style”
Siamese with all their heart.

“The blue point Thai cat in the
video is 16 month old Quadruple Grand Champion Alter
DiaBrillante Uncle Sam. Sorry it is not easier to hear due to the announcer on the PA
calling cats to the judging rings.”

Unfortunately in 2002 the GCCF (Governing
Council of the Cat Fancy) allowed Korat breeders to use the name “Thai”
for their pointed cats even though it had already been used by the WCF
for the “old-style Siamese” in Europe since 1990. In my opinion allowing
the Korat breeders to use a name that had already been taken for 12
years by another cat breed was really contrary to the spirit of the
World Cat Congress and leads to a lot of confusion and misunderstanding
between breeders and cat fanciers.

The cats that are referred to as “Thai cats” by the GCCF are blue pointed
and lilac coloured cats that are produced out of a Korat x Korat mating
and have NOTHING to do
with the cats that are called “Thai” by WCF and TICA.

It is often said that there are so called Thai cat breeders outcrossing with
British Shorthairs, American Shorthairs, European Shorthairs or cats
with unknown heritage to get the moderate look – I wish I could say that
there are no breeders like that but unfortunately I can’t. People that
are interested in buying a “Thai cat” need to be careful where to get a
kitten and should check the pedigrees and the looks of the cats in the
cattery. For example fluffy fur (the ‘undercoat’),, a nose with a clear visible
stop and a non Siamese temperament are often an indication of a
forbidden outcross.

The WCF and TICA only allow so called outcrosses
with “Siamese” because at the end of the day the pure-bred “Thai” IS a
Siamese cat.

Cat and kitten pedigrees can be traced back to the first “Siamese” which
were imported into the UK in 1884. We are able to look back on a variety
of successful and precious original UK “Siamese” bloodlines and are very
proud of this fact.

THE FUTURE OF THE “THAI” CAT?

We and many other breeders have been attending a lot of cat shows in the
past couple of years to show our cats to a wide range of visitors and
judges, handing out the standard of points and a variety of old pictures
to sensitize them for the TICA “Thai” standard of points and what a true
old-style “Siamese” should look like. It is our heart’s desire to
promote this old breed with the new name amongst cat fanciers and to end
the confusion and misunderstandings between “TICA Thai” and “old-style
Siamese” breeders.

It is with great joy and pride that I see that nowadays more and more GCCF
(old-style) “Siamese” breeders in the UK and CFA (old-style) “Siamese”
breeders in the US are starting to dual register and show cats in TICA
as “Thai”. It looks like finally the mountain of years of confusion and
misunderstandings is starting to crumble.

Not only are other countries realizing what we are about, more and
more judges got the message and are now preferring the traditional
siamese 'Thai' over the round fluffy version of the not always clear
origin 'Thai'